The Blade Master
by WorldStrider
Summary: Trapped in the Japanese server, a game suddenly becomes reality, monsters are no longer pixels on a screen and a sword is suddenly a heavyweight in his hand. Caerwyn teams up with his old friend Shiroe to face the enemies and challenges of Eldar tale and see that new horizon. As time goes on though he discovers there are darker things in Eldar tale than the monsters. OC/Nureha.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own Log horizon**

**Authors note: So yeah. I've just got total titanium layered writers block with HP and the Hunt so I'm trying my hand at another story. I finished watching Log horizon, loved it and decided to write a fan fiction. If you enjoy this and have any suggestions/advise/criticism please leave that in a review. Hope you enjoy.**

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The clock next to my computer slowly ticked towards midday. My head was resting in my hands staring at the clock, waiting for the hour and minute hand to strike twelve. At twelve the massive update 'novasphere pioneers' would implement allowing players on to the servers.

Despite it being light outside the curtains were closed and the lights were off, I was predicting a full day of gaming ahead while I got used to the vastly changed game. It was quite exciting really. Elder tale was an amazing game yet with half of its players now having reached the max level its developers had to introduce new content to keep the crown as biggest and best MMO. So the new update was introducing massive amounts of new items, quests, NPCs, monsters, areas and raising the level cap ten levels from 90 to a 100. I was looking forward to getting back in to it. A knock came at the door.

"Come in!" I called. My Dad opened the door and poked his head through.

"****, I'm heading off now. There's food in the fridge for dinner tonight and the weekend. I should be back by Monday night." I nod my head in acknowledgement, not looking away from the clock which showed only four minutes were left.

"I wish you wouldn't spend so much time on that game. Your addicted to it" he said in frustration.

"I wish you wouldn't spend so much time to at work. You're addicted to that. We all have our guilty pleasures Dad." I said finally looking at him.

His face had fallen and I immediately felt guilty. His workaholic tendencies were what drove his and my mum's marriage in to the rocks and drove a wedge between me and him. He had tried spending more time with me but he soon relapsed and if anything spent more time at the office. After being appointed the British ambassador to Japan he had embraced the workaholic culture the country possessed. I barley saw him nowadays.

"Well, I'll see you on Monday. Goodbye ****, love you"

"Bye" I deliberately left the last bit unsaid feeling suddenly irrationally spiteful. Dad hung at the door for a second then closed it and left. I heard him get in to his car outside and get driven off. I sighed and held my head in my hands.

_'I shouldn't have done that' _I was being childish and now I'd feel guilty for the rest of the night. I shoved the incident from my mind and concentrated on the screen, determined not to allow anything ruining my return to my favourite game. I looked at my character slowly revolving on the screen; my avatar was pretty average mostly. Six foot height with dark brown, crew cut hair and hazel eyes. I looked at the stats:

**Japanese server**

**Name: Caerwyn**

**Level: 90**

**Race: Human**

**Class: Blade Master**

I looked at the class remembering the 7th update. It was an unremarkable update by all standards but it had one unique feature, titled 'End of Sakoku' which had luckily released as I'd had arrived in Japan. Its main purpose was to allow people to travel between servers to face people from other countries in PVP and limited PVE. It also however allowed you to transfer your character permanently to another server. I had taken advantage of this to transfer my character over when I had moved to Japan.

Though the majority of classes were the same all over the servers of Elder tale, each had three classes which usually conformed to historical groups. Japan had Samurai, Monks and Kannagi. The northern European equivalent was the Knight, Blade master and Priest. The Blade master was similar to the monk, it had the high evasion rate and to the ability to chain combo's with the short cool downs. However the blade master could equip medium armour and bladed weapons increasing its damage. To balance the class, the Blade master didn't share the extremely high HP of the Monk and had a medium amount of HP. It relied on its evasion skills to stay alive.

It was a somewhat controversial decision to allow 'foreign' classes to move between servers and upset the class system but it was eventually accepted for adding a degree unpredictability it put in the game and to mix things up.

There was only a minute left now until I went back in to Elder tale. I thought about my friends in the Debauchery tea party and the brilliant times we had had together before the group disbanded. _'I wonder where they are now?_', it would be nice to see them again. You could make true friends in Elder tales. Anyone could make a beautiful avatar in a game, personality and ability was what truly shone through.

The countdown hit zero and the log in options suddenly coloured where they had previously been greyed out. I hesitated, the cursor over hovering over the _'log in'_ button. _'Will anyone even log on for this? Or have they all moved on with their lives?' _I wondered. My big brother, Alex, who was back in the UK would be playing I knew but he would be on the North European server, and neither of us would be meeting up for some time while we enjoyed the new update.

I dismissed my hesitation. If I had had such an attitude before I would never have met the tea party and the friends I made afterwards. There were people to meet, monsters to beat, loot to acquire and new horizons to see.

I hit the Log in button.

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**Authors note: Ok so a short intro chapter. I tried to make it a little longer but honestly there's little you can write about before you get in to game itself. The next chapter shall be along shortly.**

**I found the whole class thing quite hard for several reasons. As my character is coming from another server I wanted to give them something unique that would make them stand out. However Log horizon is built on a delicate system of classes that all have their weakness and strengths, obviously too make Shiroe an important character with his strategy skill.**

**As such making a new class is hard because of that and it's easy to make them too strong despite thinking that you're not. Basically the blade master is a mainly a dps, similar to the swashbuckler. If anything frankly I think the Monk is OP though. Apparently only having cloth armour makes them weaker but they have ludicrously high HP so it doesn't even matter.**

**Oh and I couldn't be bothered to think of a name beyond the one he had in game and I didn't want to distract you so **** is whatever you want to be why'll he'll be called Caerwyn in game. **

**Please review, it's like gold to us FF authors :D**


	2. The Apocalypse

**Disclaimer: I do not own Log horizon**

**Authors note: Chapter two as promised. Hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Drop a review on your way out :D**

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My eyes opened and I blinked not really comprehending what was in front of me. I was staring out of a hole in the side of a building. A ruined city stretched out in front of me, over grown with moss and greenery. My mind was disorientated, confused at how I had been sat at my desk a moment ago and was now standing in a decrepit building.

'_Where am I? I was logging in to Elder tale when...'_ I tried to remember what had happened afterword's but it was impossible, like trying to remember when you fell asleep when you woke up in the morning. I looked down and gasped. I was looking down at silver armour, my legs and arms wrapped in red cloth, a sabre hanging at my hips.

'_What's going on? This is my armour from Elder tale, this is impossible' _I then realised what the the city in front of me was. Akihabara. A city in Eldar tale. I was in Eldar tale. I backed up a bit in shock and not being used to the armour and slight body differences I tripped over my feet and landed on my arse in a clatter of metal. I didn't react to my fall; I just sat there staring gobsmacked at the ruined buildings before my eyes

'_This isn't possible, how am I in a game?'_ I stared at my armoured hands, flexing them a little. My hands felt stronger and lighter than they had used to. I got up and stretched my body, feeling power in my arms and legs that I had never felt before.

'_I'm feeling better than I have in a long time despite the circumstances'_. I looked out the hole again.

'_I need to get a bird's eye view; I can't see shit down here beyond a few buildings'_ I looked around and located a decaying staircase going up. I moved over to them slowly, getting used to my new body. Elder tales extensive customization system had allowed me to get my body dimensions fairly accurate but my new found strength and slightly taller height took some getting used to. After I nearly fell down the staircase, I learned to hold my sword by the hilt as I walked so it didn't get tangled in my legs.

I came out in to bright sunlight. There was a slight cool breeze and the air felt surprisingly moist like I was in a jungle. I could see the shining guild building in the distance looking much more impressive than it did in the game. _'I'm defiantly in Elder tales then'_.

I could hear shouting coming from beneath me and I leaned over the wall to look down at the streets below. People, players like me, I realised, were milling about in confusion. The confusion and shouting grew as people realised their situation. I held my head in my hands and growled in frustration.

'_What's going on, why am I in Eldar tales, why has everyone been taken here?'_ As I dropped my hands from my head, a ting and warble suddenly sounded. I looked up startled as my vision was filled with symbols, names and my HP and MP bars. Looking down I saw the street below was filled with names and class emblems as the adventurers below lit up all at once.

'_Wait the menu! Does that mean...'_ I opened it up by pressing the menu icon which floated in mid air, feeling very strange doing so. It was like interactable hologram.

My entire inventory was still there. The items, armour, weapons and potions. I looked at my currently equipped inventory.

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**Rune Sabre - A production class weapon, using rare ****Mithrarian**** steel , layered with runes increasing attack speed and damage.**

**Armour of the Winged Warrior- Rare drop from the undead Pegasus boss, this increases the defence against critical attacks and increases evasion chance. **

**Pelt of the Sphinx – Rare drop from the 'Riddles of the Sphinx'. Provides protection from both physical and mental magic. You can get this if you go for the secret ending by killing the sphinx instead of answering its riddles. Impatient aren't you?**

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I looked away from my inventory to the rest of the options. To my disappointment, the log out button wouldn't work, something it had never done before but unsurprising frankly. That would be too easy. A thought suddenly occurred to me.

'_Wait, if I'm here Alex might be stuck here as well!' _I found the friends button, opened it and started scrolling down the list. A large amount of the list was greyed out; around half I found when I reached the bottom. _'Does that mean they aren't here? _I wondered.

I scrolled back up to where my Brothers name was and was saw that he was logged in. The call option was greyed out though. We were on different servers or however it worked now; I wouldn't be able to contact him. I stifled my disappointment and went back to the list. At least half of the list of players appeared as active which was still a lot of people. I memorized who was logged in thinking of who to call. Before I could decide though a ringing filled my ears and a box appeared before me.

**Shiroe **

**Akihabara **

**[Accept] [Decline] ?**

'_Shiroe?'_ I hit accept, eager to hear a friendly voice.

"{Shiroe, Is that you?}" I asked, still not quite believing all of this was happening.

"{Caerwyn, it's good to hear you, where are you?}"I heard Shiroes voice echo around my head

I looked around for a landmark but there was only the guild hall in the distance, rising over the city blocks.

"{On top of a building across from the guild hall, more importantly, what the hell is going on, how are we in Elder tales}?" I ask him, not really expecting an answer.

"{I don't know, I'm meeting up with Naotsugu by the silver leaf tree. Do you want to meet there?"}

{"Definitely, I'm on my way"} I said, already moving for the stairs.

{Ok, I'll see you there"} The call disconnected.

I was in luck; my two closest friends on Elder tales were both logged in. Shiroe and I had travelled together extensively in the Debauchery tea party and afterwards as well. The man had a cunning intellect and was an incredible strategist. Frankly there were few others I would rather have with me now. Naotsugu was a strong player and a great guy. Always the optimist and to able see the best in any situation. It would be good to see them.

I had reached the bottom of the building and was quickly making my way through the chaotic streets. They were packed full of adventures milling about in confusion. Most were shouting in panic or at others while a few had even started scuffling with fellow players, some just stood around and looked on with scared eyes, not sure what to do.

I didn't stop for anything or anyone though. I had a purpose now in this new confusing world. Meet Shiroe and Naotsugu at the Silver leaf tree and find out what the hell was going on.

The Silverleaf tree had been a popular gathering point for the debauchery tea party, no doubt why Shiroe chose it as a meeting place. I reached the top of the hill and looked down in to the large crater that the huge tree sat in, looking for my friends. I saw a figure bedecked in plate mail sitting at the foot of the tree with a tall man in a white cloak standing next to him. Naotsugu and Shiroe. There didn't appear to be anyone else in the crater. They spotted me and waved. I waved back as I jogged down the hill and up to them.

"Shiroe, Naotsugu" I nodded at my old friends.

"Caerwyn, nice to see you again" Shiroe said smiling.

Naotsugu came up to me and we bumped fists "Long time no see Caerwyn, You still fighting in that paper you call armour?" he asked, pointing to my protection, which why'll impressive, couldn't really stand up to the massive plate mail set up Naotsugu had. I smiled and responded in kind.

"You still missing the broadside of a barn with your sword Naotsugu?" Naotsugu laughed. The man had notoriously bad accuracy after investing so much in becoming a walking tank. I sat down on the grass by the pond and listened as Naotsugu continued his and Shiroes conversation.

"So I log in for the first time in two years, and this happens. What the hell is going on?"

"I don't know either" Shiroe sighed "But it appears were stuck in Elder tale"

We sat there in silence while we thought. It was a lot to process being stuck in a world that was only a load of pixels on the screen just an hour ago. Impossible but the evidence was right before our eyes. Shiroe spoke up.

"Wait, they released the new update today didn't they" Naotsugu nodded his head.

"Yeah, the Novasphere pioneers. It's why I came back on."

My eyes widened as I remembered, the game had been fine the last time I had played a couple of months back. And after the update I didn't remember anything. I mentioned this to the guys.

"I can't remember anything that happened after they updated the game, and then the next thing I know I wake up here."

"Same with me" Naotsugu remarked. I lay back and stared up at the sky from my position on the grass.

"This is defiantly Akihabara; I've seen it enough times but..." Naotsugu voice faltered. I knew what he was trying to say.

"The sky stretches so much further" I said in wonder. I wasn't being poetic. In the game the distant sky was just a blurry mess. Here it was like real life, going all the way to the horizon in a glorious blue.

"Yeah."

Shiroe had crouched down in the grass and was rubbing his fingers through the damp moss at the edge of the pool.

"It really feels like I'm touching it" Shiroe said with a touch of awe "this isn't a dream"

"Then were in a game, I thought this stuff only happened in fantasy novels" Naotsugu sighed. "Do you think we can get home?" He asked the strategist.

"I don't know, I don't know how we even got here" he turned to us "we may not be able to get home quickly, which means..." He pushed his glasses up making them flash with reflecting light. The sight was vaguely intimidating for some reason. I just hoped he had a plan.

"We need to be ready, let's gather some information; we have to know more about this world"

I stood up and stretched "That's a good idea; information is something we sorely need at the moment, I'm glad to see you haven't lost your edge Shiroe, still as calm and analytical as ever."

Shiroe rubbed the back of his neck "Calm isn't exactly how I'd describe it." I knew how he felt. We moved off, leaving the silver leaf tree and its calm embrace for the chaos of the city once again.

"I know this isn't probably what you expected, but welcome back to Eldar tales, Naotsugu" Shiroe said. The two of them bumped wrists.

I continued walking, deep in thought and thinking about my Dad. What was happening back in the real world? Was my body just slumped over my computer? Would my dad come back to a corpse? The thought was depressing. I didn't want the last memory he had of me to be me being an arse.

Naotsugu's hand suddenly slapped me in the back nearly throwing me off my feet. _'Good god he's strong now'._

"Cheer up Caerwyn, things may be pretty bad, but now were all together; we'll cover each other's backs. Right Shiroe?" Shiroe hummed in agreement and nodded.

I looked at my friends and realised that for once Naotsugu's optimism was right. On my own I was at the mercy of fate. But Elder tale was if anything a game of teamwork. And they were a strong team. I straightened my back and strode forward. I wouldn't be a weak link in the group and let the others down. I pushed the thoughts of my family from my mind. I could think of them when I had answers and knew more about what was going on.

We were walking along one of the collapsed highways of what technically used to be Tokyo, observing the city as went. We had visited several landmarks, the guild hall, the intercity transporter, cathedral, market and entrance to the outside zone, making note of any changes between the game and what was now our new reality. Things seemed to have calmed down now on the streets, no more fights had broken out and people were talking in groups or sitting placidly against walls with only the occasional shout breaking the new found quiet. The occasional person and group were walking through the streets like them as friends met up. I looked up at a building as I spotted a glint of light reflecting off metal._ 'There's that person in blue again'_.The mysterious figure had been stalking them since they left the gate. Seeing as they weren't making a move and were just watching for now I turned to Naotsugu to ask him a question that had been bugging me.

"So, Naotsugu, I thought you gave up Elder tales for work?" I asked curiously. Shiroe looked over as well, his interest piqued.

"Yeah but works not as busy now so I have more time to spare. Plus there are no cute girls at the office" the guardian said with a sad look on his face and a pout. Shiroe and I sighed. Typical Naotsugu.

"A lack of cute girls isn't an excuse Naotsugu" The man's mouth hanged open like I had just insulted his mother.

"Not an excuse? Not an excuse! It's been two years Caerwyn. Don't tell me your still" he leaned in to me, covering his mouth "one of them" he whispered like we were conspirators. I looked at him in amusement.

"Not everyone's a raging super pervert like you Naotsugu"

"No but everyone seems to be closet perverts like you and Shiroe"

I'm not a closet anything" Shiroe said frowning.

Naotsugu suddenly jumped in front of us, stopping us in our tracks, striking a dramatic pose and holding up two fingers.

"There are two sorts of men in this world, open perverts who admit it and closet perverts who won't and I am the former!" Holding his arms out like he was god. "And I love panties!" He shouted at the top of his lungs. A flock of birds from a nearby tree took flight, frightened by Naotsugu shout. He suddenly pointed at Shiroe and me "You two are the latter" I just stared at him in bewilderment. His perverted nature seemed to have worsened over the years to say the least.

Shiroe seemed to have had his fill of Naotsugu antics and moved past him "Yeah, yeah". They were about to exit the highway when Shiroe tripped, I caught him by the arm before he could fall.

"Thank you Caerwyn" He propped himself up on his staff as he looked at me "how tall are you, in real life?" he asked. I didn't see the harm in telling him. It was the same height as my character after all.

"Around 183cms, why?" I asked curious. A rock clattered next to us and I noticed out of the corner of my eye that it was thrown by a person atop a nearby building; however I was distracted as Shiroe continued talking.

"My character is taller than I really am, so this body doesn't really feel right." He said examining his hand. Another rock clattered next to us and bounced off Naotsugu's armoured boot. The man's face started to twitch.

"That's what you get for showing off I guess" Naotsugu said in admonishment. I had to agree. I had always tried to make my game character look as close to myself as possible, at least in body dimensions. I was fine with who I was so I had never felt the need to make my character any different.

It was only when a boulder smashed in to the small river next to us, startling and drenching me that I realised that the person up there _really_ wanted our attention. Naotsugu didn't take it as well.

"What is your problem?! That's dangerous!" he shouted at the figure atop the building who I realised was the man in blue that had been stalking us. I placed my hand on my hilt and prepared for any attack that might come. Experience or not I would defend myself and my friends.

"Akatsuki?" Shiroe exclaimed in surprise next to me. Naotsugu turned to him.

"You know him?"

"We partied together sometimes, not much of a talker but a good assassin" Shiroe explained

I turned to the group. "Well it seems, your friend wants to speak to us, let's go see what he wants, we can at least get him to stop pelting us with rocks."

The others agreed and we entered the building to meet the assassin that wanted to talk with us so badly. Meeting an assassin in a secluded place didn't seem like a great idea to begin with, but some player couldn't be that much of a threat. Nobody could really fight in this world yet, could they?

We soon reached the top floor and moved over to the assassin who was leaning against a table.

"Akatsuki, so you're also here?" Shiroe asked the man.

Naotsugu strode forward to introduce himself.

"I'm Naotsugu, a guardian, whether you're an open pervert or not, let's get along" he said with his best smile and thumbs up. I just stared at him

"You say that too someone you just met?" I asked in bemusement.

"Yup" the man grinned. I just shook my head. The man was truly incorrigible. The assassin suddenly spoke for the first time.

"Shiroe, I've been looking for you, I need you to sell me a potion."

'_Wait, that voice doesn't sound like a...'_

The strategist spoke for all of us then.

"Akatsuki, you're a girl?" The enchanter asked in shock. I didn't blame him. He'd been playing with a dude who was actually a girl for ages. Such gender swaps in MMOs happened but they were usually the other way round.

'_No wonder she didn't speak much...'_

"I need an appearance shaping potion" the newly revealed girl asked. Shiroe looked confused for a second.

"Why do you need an apper...oh" He blushed in embarrassment and reached in to his bag and handed the man, no girl, an orange potion. She went behind some wooden slats for privacy.

"So those are pretty rare, how did you know Shiroe had one?" Naotsugu asked while trying to sneak up to grab a peak over the boards only to be dragged back by Shiroe. I leaned against the wall watching the events unfold.

"I was there when Shiroe got the potion from a monster drop and I knew he didn't need it. I hoped he still had it" I heard the sound of a cork opening and her drinking the potion. Nothing happened for a second then bright light shot through the boards and we could hear the assassin screaming. The three of us were fairly creeped out as cracking noises and shadows came from behind the wall.

'_I'm glad I'm never going to have to use that potion...'_

The process ended and the now revealed girl stood out from behind the cover. She was much shorter now and had long purple hair that reached her lower back. She was quite pretty.

"It's all right now" She turned to Shiroe "You saved me, I really appreciate it."

"I-Its fine" Shiroe replied.

I decided that now was as good a time as any to introduce myself, I walked up to the girl who I now realised was _really _short. The top of her head only came up to my chest and my avatar was an average sized guy. I held out my hand.

"Hello, the names Caerwyn. A pleasure to meet you." She looked at my hand and then shook it.

"Akatsuki, though you already knew that." She was about to continue when something caught her eye behind me "Why is that strange man staring at me?" She said looking at Naotsugu. I turned and looked at the guardian who was staring at Akatsuki like she was a puzzle he was trying to figure out. I rolled my eyes and turned to back the assassin.

"Just ignore him, he has issues."

I heard Naotsugu mutter something about a locked tight closet behind me. Shiroe had composed himself back in to his cool demeanour as I moved back in to the group.

"Were exploring the city Akatsuki, you can accompany us if you want." He offered.

"That would be acceptable. Thank you." she said. I found her sudden formality strange but brushed it off as we moved to exit the building.

After exploring the rest of the city we had decided to forgo the taverns in the event any adventurers wanted to make trouble. We made camp in a small ruined amphitheatre on the edge of the city. The skies were completely clear and it was still quite warm so we weren't worried about the elements.

I sat against a collapsed pillar with my sabre over my knees, just in case any adventurer decided to try and pick a fight with us. The city was a no fight zone so _technically _any fight would be stopped before it was started by the Royal guard. It depended however if the player could do any damage in the several seconds before the guard arrived. I gripped the sabre hilt. Better safe than sorry.

"I retract my earlier statement; you can't be either an open pervert or a closet one...because you aren't a man!" Naotsugu shouted, pointing at Akatsuki from his perch atop a rock. He had finally got over his confusion over Akatsuki it seemed.

"Shiroe, is there something wrong with him?" Akatsuki asked as she performed some stretches. She did it really well. She had some experience it seemed.

"There are many things wrong with him" Shiroe replied as he looked through his menu. Naotsugu was spluttering in indignation now. I decided to steer the conversation from Naotsugu's rampant perversion.

"So Akatsuki, did you adjust your character to your real size?" I asked curiously. She was really was quite small so getting back to her old size would help if she was going to do as much acrobatics as the assassin class regularly did. This was all assuming that we would fight. I really couldn't see us doing anything else though though if we were here for the long run.

"Yes" She answered simply.

"You should have done that in the first place" Naotsugu interjected. Akatsuki turned to him.

"Games are fun because you can do things you can't do in the real world, but once I arrived here; being a man became quite inconvenient."

"Inconvenient?" Naotsugu asked puzzled. Realization dawned on him "Oh, you mean like when you go to the bathro-" Before he could finish Akatsuki's knee connected with his face sending him tumbling off the rock. I was surprised, she had moved quite fast.

"Shiroe is it alright if I knee this man in the face?" She asked a tired, but amused looking Shiroe.

"Ask before you do it, you little shrimp!" shouted Naotsugu holding his nose in his hand.

"Don't call me a shrimp!" she shouted back at Naotsugu. I chuckled quietly. Having this one around would be interesting. An idea started to form in my mind.

She turned to Shiroe, giving Naotsugu the cold shoulder. "Anyway, how much do I owe you?"

Shiroe waved her away "Oh, don't worry about it" Akatsuki shook her head.

"I can't do that. I don't want anyone saying I wouldn't return a favour or payback a debt."

"But..." Before he could say anything, Naotsugu interjected.

"If it's that big of a deal you can-" Akatsuki's knee once again connected with his face sending him flying. I smiled; yes, maybe having this girl around wouldn't be such a bad idea after all. She kept Naotsugu's rampant perversion in check at least.

"Shiroe is it alright if I knee this strange man in the face?" she asked again.

"I said to ask _before _you do it, and you didn't even let me finish" Naotsugu said getting up, his nose was now a bright red. Akatsuki crossed her arms.

"You were going to say something perverted"

"...maybe" the Guardian admitted. I couldn't help it, I laughed out loud. The others looked at me startled. I got up and walked over to them.

"Well there might be a way for you to repay Shiroe, why don't you stay with us for a while?" The girl looked surprised, then indecisive "Assassins are lone wolves, we don't join guilds".

She was being stubborn. I decided to let Shiroe convince her with his logic.

"You understand, don't you Shiroe? Explain." I said as I fastened my sheathed sabre to my belt again.

The strategist thought looked thoughtful for a second and nodded. "Caerwyn has a point. We aren't a guild. Were just a group. And right now it would be best if we stick together than go out alone." The girl still looked unsure.

"Are you alright with having me Shiroe?" The enchanter smiled.

"We'd be more than happy to have you, right guys? He said looking at Naotsugu and me. I nodded.

"There's strength in numbers and you obviously have skill. No objection here" I looked at Naotsugu who had stopped rubbing his nose and was surprisingly grinning. He didn't look sullen at all. I smiled. Despite his perverted nature he was good guy.

"Well, you have a mean kick. We could use that if we go up against monsters" He said.

"I see." Akatsuki said with a small smile. I realised that this was the first time I had seen her express any emotion bar annoyance with Naotsugu. The assassin dropped to her knees before Shiroe "Then as a ninja I shall revere you as my lord".

Shiroe suddenly looked awkward "What? Ninja? Lord...?" he said weakly.

'_She's probably one of these hardcore role players'_

"Your generosity saved me from the dire fate of being transformed in to a man. Thus I will work to repay the debt I have to you by protecting you as your Ninja."

Shiroe looked thoroughly bewildered by now "Erm...thanks."

"Then were a team" Naotsugu said in finality sealing the deal. We talked for a while longer about the events of the day but soon agreed to finally get some sleep. The moon slowly rose above us we laid down to rest and soon the makeshift camp quietened as everyone fell asleep.

The adventurers of Japan slowly settled down for their first night in the world of Elder tale. Nobody knew that the beginnings of a group that would one day change the world had been formed.

I awoke to the singing of birds and sunlight. I sat up feeling well rested if a bit sore and cramped from my stone bed.

'_Screw it; we should have just risked a tavern with a comfortable mattress.' _

I stretched out my aching body and shook the cramp out of my leg. Looking around I saw that Shiroe was sitting by the edge of the area, looking over the city. I made my way over and sat next to him.

"Morning Shiroe"

"Good Morning Caerwyn" he replied staring at the distant rooftops. The Enchanter looked tired, his eyes were drooping and his hair was a mess.

We sat in comfortable silence for a while and I looked over the city and distant horizon as the sun just starting to rise. It was a beautiful sight. A sudden realization came to me. One I had failed to truly face the implications of in the hurricane of events yesterday. I was in a new world. A completely new world with no obligations to meet or people's expectations to satisfy. Pure freedom, in every sense of the word. If I wanted I could walk over that horizon to whatever awaited me. New people and amazing sights. It gave me a strangely elated feeling.

I would have to learn how to fight I realised, bringing my mood down a bit. An adventurer's life was centred around battle to pay for everything they needed. It would be my new life for now until we found a way home which didn't seem to be coming any time soon.

'_Could I do that? These monsters aren't just pixels on a screen anymore. They're really flesh and blood trying to kill me with everything they have.'_

Images of wolves in the dark, jumping to tear at my throat came to me. My stomach twisted at the thought. I ruthlessly squashed the image. I would deal with it when it came to it. There was no point getting worked up over it now.

I glanced at Shiroe sitting next to me, not having to guess what he was thinking. The strategist was probably analysing everything that they had learned the previous day.

"How are you holding up Shiroe?" I asked him. He looked at me and gave me a tired smile.

"I'm fine, just a little sore from sleeping on rock all night." he said. His answer sounded reasonable but something told me that wasn't it the truth. I looked at him and raised my eyebrow. He sighed.

"I couldn't sleep." He admitted "There are too many mysteries and not enough information to solve them with. I don't have any answers to anything that's happened here." He looked at me. "I've...I've never had a mystery I couldn't solve before." I felt uncomfortable for a second. As the strategist he had always been the one with the plan or idea. I dismissed the notion. Shiroe was just as human as the rest of us after all, even he could be overwhelmed. He just needed a bit of help. I thought carefully about how to answer him. It suddenly occurred to me that he was over thinking things.

"You don't think your aiming a little high?" I asked him.

"What?" he asked startled.

"You've only been here a day and your already trying to solve all the mysteries of the universe" Shiroe blushed "Take things one step at a time and work with what you have until you know more. Small steps first."

I stood up. "And don't forget that me, Naotsugu and Akatsuki have your back, were your team now. We're here to help." He looked thoughtful "I'm going to wake the others up". As I moved off Shiroe called out

"Caerwyn." I turned back to the Enchanter. He was smiling.

"Thanks you, I needed that."

I nodded. "Happy to help Shiroe".

Waking up the other two members of my team turned out to be harder than it had to be.

Shaking Akatsuki's shoulder, I was shocked when her body disappeared in a blur, only to feel her Ninjato at my neck as she stood behind me.

'_How did she move that quickly? Are our bodies and abilities really that much stronger?'_

"Your fast" I croaked, not wanting to move my neck and cut it on the razor sharp blade.

"Caerwyn, I'm sorry" she kneeled in front of me "Please accept my humblest apologies". I shook my head rubbing my neck; the formal ninja act wouldn't do if we were going to be friends and team mates.

"Akatsuki, there's no need to be so formal, were teammates now."

"Teammates" She said quietly, looking down "I've never been in part of a team before" I looked at her in puzzlement.

"I thought you said you joined up with Shiroe before?"

"We partied together sometimes to defeat tough enemies for convenience but never truly teamed up" She explained. She looked around "Where is he by the way?"

"By the entrance, I'll be over when I've woken Naotsugu up" I replied, as looked over to where Naotsugu slept, spread out on top of one of the amphitheatre benches.

"Very well. I must go apologise to my lord for waking after him" She zipped over to where Shiroe was. I sighed and didn't bother correcting her. I resigned myself to her ninja act as I had to resign myself to Naotsugu's perversion. I moved to wake the Guardian.

Shiroe and Akatsuki finished talking as I arrived with Naotsugu in tow.

"You didn't have to kick me off the bench" He said rubbing his face which and been receiving so much abuse lately.

"Considering you nearly kept me awake with your bloody snoring all night, you can say were even" Naotsugu just grinned

"You're just jealous. Snoring is a sign of a healthy set of lungs."

"I heard it's a sign of chronic weight issues." Akatsuki said innocently. Naotsugu pouted like a kicked puppy.

"So where to now, oh glorious leader?" I asked playfully. Shiroe ignored my joke.

"The market"

"Why there?" Akatsuki asked curious.

"To get something to eat"

"Yosh!" Naotsugu shouted as he fist pumped the air and half sprinted down the hill in the direction of the market. It was a good idea. My rumbling stomach reminded me that I hadn't eaten in a day. I followed the group down in to the city. A good meal would be nice after what I'd been through.

The table literally groaned under the weight of the food piled on it. There were boxes full of sandwiches, burgers and cakes, plates full of chicken drumsticks and pizza, bowls filled to the brim with salad and rice dumplings. Yet the four people gathered at the table couldn't look any more dejected.

"What is this" I said in disgust. The chicken I had bit in too tasted like I had eaten greasy tasteless bread. Naotsugu looked like he was going to cry.

"It tastes like soggy crackers without salt" He tried a slice of pizza and screwed up his face.

"They all taste the same"

Akatsuki nibbled on a rice dumpling looking thoroughly miserable

"These drinks taste of water as well" Shiroe said as he examined what was supposed to be an orange drink.

I chewed my tasteless chicken and sulked. This was supposed to be a pick me up after the crap day I had had yesterday. Now it was even worse if that was possible. Truly he wouldn't be surprised if this was what they served the prisoners of hell.

Shiroes was suddenly distracted by something in front of him. He frowned; manipulating what I assumed was his menu in before him.

"Something wrong Shiroe?" Naotsugu asked as he swallowed a bite of his burger with a grimace. Shiroe put his hand up to his ear like he was listening to someone.

'_Is he getting a call?' _

"We'll be there soon" Shiroe stood up.

"Come on, we need to meet someone, I'll explain on the way." He said already moving off. There was a hate in his steps that I hadn't seen before.

Naotsugu spat out the burger he had been nibbling.

"Better than staying here with this crap".

Frankly I had never agreed with the man more.

"Marielle?" Naotsugu questioned as we strode through the building. Shiroe answered him.

"She leads a guild called the Crescent moon alliance. Caerwyn and I teamed up with them sometimes after you left. They're a good bunch, just a bit...eccentric."

Naotsugu turned to me and raised an eyebrow.

"You'll see" I answered his unspoken question.

I looked around as we walked. The guild building was massive. In the game it had been composed of instances and phases to allow room for the hundreds of guilds, big and small, that existed in Akihabara alone. Now that no such system existed, the building consisted of impossibly long complex hallways, spotted with doors to various guild halls or empty rooms. It was like a maze. I stuck a bit closer to the team, it wouldn't do well to become lost in here.

We arrived at the door to the Crescent moon alliance guild rooms and headed in. We were immediately hit by a dazzle of pink and fluffy toys. I wasn't sure how I wasn't vomiting a rainbow already.

"Shiroe!" I narrowly avoided being wiped out as Marielle glomped the enchanter and started nuzzling him and chattering. I stared at her bewildered.

'_Jeez,_ _they she wasn't this bad before. Then again I guess tackling someone wasn't possible in the game before either.' _

Shiroe finally managed to shake her off. Marielle's eyes turned to me.

"Caerwyn!"

'_Oh shit'_

I desperately tried to dodge and get away but was rugby tackled by the hyperactive woman

"It's so nice to see you again! I hope you're Japanese has improved, what am I saying, of course it has!"

"Marielle, please, control yourself!" I cried in protest. While there were certainly worse fates than being under a buxom woman, I had no wish to die as her hug nearly crushed me to death. After much wriggling, I managed to escape her grasp.

'_God,_ _she's like a child on sugar times two' _She went after Akatsuki next.

"Look at you!" She grabbed the newest member of the group and started hugging her. The purple headed girl looked like she was being tortured.

"Is this your girlfriend perhaps Shiroe?" she asked

"No! Will you calm down for a se-"

"You're so adorable! Where did Shiroe find a cutie like you?"

Naotsugu had manoeuvred his way too Shiroe as he dusted myself off.

"Shiroe, you've been holding out on me, where have you been hiding this hot chick?" Shiroe rolled his eyes

"I'm not hiding her" He said as Marielle laid her eyes on her next victim and her eyes went wide.

"Who's this?"

"The names Naotsugu, nice to meet you!" The man gave her his best grin and pose. He was instantly glomped.

"Naotsugu huh?" She started patting him down, feeling his arms and chest.

"Your pretty buff, you do sports?" she said with a devious sideways look.

"Wha-, n-no I mean, it mostly the armour" Naotsugu stammered. The crescent moon alliance guild leader started to climb up the large guardian like a monkey.

"What is her problem? She's scaring me!" Naotsugu said all previous traces of perversion gone and replaced by alarm as he tried to stop the excitable woman.

"Marie, stop it" a clear voice commanded. A woman I recognized as Henrietta had walked in to the room. I breathed a sigh of relief. Henrietta was the brains of the guild. She would restrain her friend and allow them to get to business.

"Henrietta" Shiroe greeted the woman.

"Shiroe, I'm sorry for summoning you all here on such short notice, given what's happening however I would like to exchange inform..." Then she spotted Akatsuki and her eyes went wide.

"Kawaii!" the grown woman squealed and went to grab the girl who promptly used her evasion skills to dodge the woman's lunge, unwilling to be glomped again. The room promptly erupted in to chaos as Henrietta chased Akatsuki and Marielle once again clambered on to Naotsugu who tried to throw her off.

I held my head in my hands in defeat. _This world and everything in it is insane. Completely insane..._

Once the rest of Marielle's guild had restored order and brought their leaders in line we had finally got down to business. I ignored the served tea. It would be just depressing to drink what should be my favourite drink and just taste hot water. Shiroe questioned the now calm guild leader.

"So what's the state of your guild Marie?"

"There are nineteen of us here now, eighteen are in Akihabara. Were only missing six or so. Were lucky so many were logged in for the update"

One of Marielle's lieutenants, Shoryu, if I remembered correctly, continued the briefing.

"We've got news from friends in the other cities" he said, nodding to the map which had the major adventurer cities highlighted. "Shibuya, Minami, Susukino and Nakasu are all in the same shape. And the inter-city transport gates are offline, so we can't teleport there or vice-versa." Henrietta took over.

"The other Akihabara guilds are calling together their members and organizing themselves, like we are. Some are even starting to recruit new members."

"The more people on your side the better." I said. Henrietta looked at me,

"Exactly"

"So people are playing it safe, doing what they know best because they know Elder tales, right?" questioned Naotsugu.

"Not necessarily" Shiroe interrupted. We all looked to him.

"You remember there was an expansion, the nova sphere pioneers. Monsters, quests, items and even entire areas may now all be different" He looked around at the rest of us.

"This may not be the Elder tales we know"

We sat in silence for a minute, digesting that uncomfortable truth.

"H-hey Shiroe, I know you were never the biggest fan of guilds but" She hesitated. The strategist suddenly looked uncomfortable. I noticed Akatsuki glancing at Shiroe in curiosity and hoped she would hold her questions till later. Guilds were always a sore spot for the enchanter.

"Would you like to join ours? The debauchery tea party is gone now right? And right now-" Shiroe abruptly stood up cutting her off.

"I'm sorry Marie, but I can't...not yet." He stood up "We have to go now, thank you for the information." He left politely but quickly. I gave Marielle an apologetic smile for Shiroe's abrupt departure.

"See you around Marie."

The others said their own goodbyes and we followed Shiroe out of the room.

We had stopped for a while on an overpass, watching the adventures below us. Things were calmer now. There was no more panicked shouting and everyone just milled around. No one had any idea what to do.

'_Just like us I guess'_

"How long are they just going to sit there?" wondered Naotsugu looking down at a group of Adventurers sitting about under a tree.

"Nobody knows what to do and they're scared. They're just hoping something will happen." I shrugged. Naotsugu grunted and looked at us.

"Die and you can escape, that's pretty common in the stories."

"And sometimes in those stories when you die in the game you die in real life." Shiroe pointed out We left the area, following the Enchanter through the city.

"When this was just a game you'd revive at the cathedral." Akatsuki said.

"We can't exactly experiment." Naotsugu objected.

We passed the gate to the outside zone and stopped, looking at the dark forest outside.

"Let's try it." Shiroe said suddenly. I looked at him slight shock.

'_Does he want us to kill ourselves?'_

Before we could protest he explained himself.

"To survive in this world, we need to learn its rules and how to fight. The monsters outside the city are all low level. We can easily deal with them and we won't be in any danger. We have to do this."

'_He makes sense' _I thought grudgingly.

I observed at the others, to see if I could determine what they were thinking. No emotion left Akatsuki's usual expressionless face and Naotsugu was looking thoughtfully out at the forest.

"Let's do it." Naotsugu said. We looked at him.

"It's better than sitting on our asses all day hoping for something to happen. I'll follow you Shiroe"

"I will go where my lord commands me" Akatsuki simply said. They looked at me. I sighed and shrugged

'_It was inevitable I suppose' _

"Well if the choice is fighting monsters or going for lunch, fighting monsters sounds preferable" I said wryly, trying to inject some humour in to the dark mood. I wasn't fully joking either. It got a chuckle from the others as we formed up behind Shiroe and headed off in to the outside zone.

The adventurers gathered around the gate whispered as they saw a group head off in to the combat zone.

"What are they doing, there's monsters out there"

"Idiots, they're just going to get themselves killed.

"They're insane."

Part of me agreed with them. After all, only the insane would walk out to battle monsters not even knowing how to fight. Then again we were stuck in a world that used to be a game so what part of this situation was sane to begin with?

We hadn't been attacked, not even after ten minutes of walking through the dark forest. Shiroe reminded us that no low level monster would ambush a group of level 90s. I had heard scuttling and seen moving shadows beneath the trees though. I kept my hand on my sword just in case things turned out to be different now that all of this was real.

We talked as we travelled through the outside zone, planning for the coming fight. Shiroe was leading the way.

"Naotsugu, Caerwyn, We've fought together before so you know your roles in the battle. Akatsuki, I'll need to fill you in"

"My lord, I may not join groups often but I know how to function in a team, I'm not a level one". Akatsuki objected. Shiroe looked over to her.

"I'm not underestimating you Akatsuki, far from it. But there are something's you don't know." He nodded his head at me.

"Tell me what you know about Caerwyn's class" The assassin frowned and looked over to me.

"I know it's from another server. Not much beyond that."

"That is why I need to discuss it with you. If you don't know about the class and its abilities, you won't know what Caerwyn will do in battle." Akatsuki nodded as Shiroe began his lecture.

"The Blade master can be compared to the monk and swashbuckler. It shares the monk's evasion skills and short cool down. However it doesn't have the extremely high HP that the Monk possesses. It's HP and attack damage is similar to the swashbuckler. However unlike the swashbuckler, its strength lies in fighting single enemies" Shiroe explained.

"So it's a DPS then?"

"Not exactly, it's true that its strength is damaging the opponent but it can also tank for a short while if needed, using its evasion abilities to avoid attacks and damage.

"What are its weaknesses?" Akatsuki asked curiously. I decided to take over at this point. They were talking about me after all.

"As Shiroe said, I have an average amount of HP. My abilities also generate a lot of aggro. That's why the big guy and I are such a good team. When the enemies become too much, he steps in and keeps them off my back while I heal. Then we swap again." Naotsugu and I bumped fists. Shiroe nodded.

"That is what will form the basis of our formation. I shall be the field monitor and support. Naotsugu will obviously act as our tank and Caerwyn our dps. Akatsuki, you do what you do best. Hang back and look for the opportune moment to strike."

We all nodded and strode further in to the dark forest.

"The archive tower ruins? Why this part of the forest?" Questioned Naotsugu.

"As I said, normally low level monsters would ignore us, but for some reason the monsters in this area aggro on sight"

"It's the perfect place to test out our combat skills safely" observed Akatsuki.

"Exactly"

Just as we moved in to a long clearing dark shadows jumped out of a set of bushes and growled. I drew my sword and prepared myself, reigning in my fear.

'_This is it'_

"Briar weasels!" Akatsuki cried.

I saw she was right as a dozen of the creatures exited the shadows and they're information popped up in my vision. They could almost be regarded as cute if it wasn't for the glowing red eyes, vicious teeth, sharp claws and thorny vines wrapped around their tail. Wait. Now that I thought about it they weren't really cute at all.

Naotsugu jumped in front of the group, sword and shield already drawn.

"Level 28? These guys are nothing!" the guardian shouted eagerly.

The Briar weasels charged.

"Get in to formation, as discussed!" Shiroe ordered. We followed his commands; I positioned myself slightly behind Naotsugu to his right and Akatsuki was behind me to my left. Shiroe had climbed a set of ruins to get a bird eyes view of the battlefield and be safe from harm. Enchanters really weren't suited for close combat.

The monsters closed in on Naotsugu who cried out in alarm.

"I can't use my menu while these guys are charging me!"

I realised in shock that he was right.

'_How can we fight and use the menu at the same time? We can't use our abilities.'_

The briar weasels had finished their charge and pounced on to Naotsugu's shield to get at the adventurer as he frantically tried to shake them off.

The biggest monster of the pack rolled around the stricken guardian and jumped at me. Its information came up.

**Alpha Briar weasel**

**Level 30**

**HP 3000/3000**

I brought my sword up and slashed at the weasel. The attack connected and cut a long gash down the side of the monster. The attack only did a moderate amount of damage however. The briar weasel was on its feet again and charging. It managed to get a claw though my desperate parries and cut me on the arm, which hurt but nowhere near as much as I thought it would.

I fought the Briar weasel for a minute, dodging its lunges, blocking its bites and slashing at the small monster when I could. I was surprised frankly. Despite everything I was holding my own. My body seemed to know how to handle the sword and my attacks and parries were professional and effective, not the wild swings my mind wanted to perform. I batted the monster off in to a tree with the side of my sword, stunning it.

Shiroe cried out from above and I looked up in alarm as the strategist was plucked up by what I recognized as a Venus man eater, a level 30 monster. Before I could even think of intervening, I saw Akatsuki jump impossibly high, way above the tree tops and dive down with her short sword drawn, dissecting the monster, which burst into a cloud of light and bubbles, the way monsters disintegrated when they died.

'_What? How did she do that?' _I was distracted as the alpha briar weasel returned and attack me again.

"Naotsugu, Caerwyn! Don't use your commands! Follow your instincts and use your body to feel the motion of the attack!" Shiroe shouted down from above.

"What!?" Naotsugu shouted as he franticly block the laser like attacks of the monsters.

"Just do it!" Shiroe shouted back.

I thought about what he said as I frantically blocked the monsters attacks. Of course! The way Akatsuki had woken up and attacked me. How I had managed to fight and hold my own despite never having used a sword before. It was our bodies. Our minds may be our own but our bodies were those of adventures. I thought of what attack to use out of my vast repository. I decided to just try my most basic skill.

"Whirlwind slash!" I shouted. I didn't know if I needed to shout the name of the attack but I decided to do it anyway, anything to increase my chances of activating the move. I filled my mind with images of me executing the attack, three lightning fast diagonal slashes, cutting the monster apart.

My muscles tensed and I moved impossibly fast, jumping forward and cutting the weasel to pieces, three bright red glowing cuts appearing in its form as it expounded, dropping gold pieces all around me.

"Shield smash!" cried Naotsugu as he activated the guardians basic offensive abilities. He swung his shield and a green wave erupted from it, engulfing the briar weasels around him and killing them.

Several monsters were left, hanging back by the edge of the forest. My fear was gone now and confidence had replaced it. I was armed with the ability to fight and eager to strike at the monsters who had dared to attack me and my friends. Before I could though I heard Shiroe cry out above me and I looked up.

"Nightmare Sphere!"

A bright purple ball erupted from his hand and engulfed the main group, killing them instantly.

'_Incredible'_

Akatsuki, Naotsugu and I moved to engage the remaining Briar weasels before the smoke had even cleared.

"Cross slash!"

"Decapitating strike!"

"Assassinate!"

Soon the area was clear and all that remained of the monsters was gold and a couple of potions as they rained down from the sky. I breathed hard as I looked around and inspected my team. They all looked tired but exhilarated. I looked down at my hands and saw them shaking little. I knew it was the adrenaline, if such a thing existed now, but you know what?

I had never felt better.

* * *

**Authors note: Firstly, please leave a review. Seeing as this not a well read section of FF, every review counts. I love hearing feedback and how people feel about the story. Please, no flames though. Only constructive criticism. **

**I'm aware that this is basically following the story and conversations at the moment but we'll start branching out soon. I'm just integrating Caerwyn in to the group and following the story in relation to the first fight and group introductions. We will of course still follow the cannon as Caerwyn accompanies Shiroe on his adventures, but he will have his own distinct story and friends as well.**


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